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No brumation, kinks, mites, or appitite.

WolfKin

WolfKin

New member
My 11 month old Anery baby, hasn't eaten in 3 weeks. These specific circumstances, I didn't find in the forum. He wasn't brumated, and he has no physical ailments, or behavior out of the norm. When he refused 2 hoppers, I figured they were too big, and downshifted to fuzzies. About a week ago, he had a bowel movement big enough that it looked like 2 fuzzies. Since then, he's refused 2 or 3 fuzzies. I even tried force feeding (which I hate doing). And like I said, he always looks healthy, and is always happy to come out and play.
Should I just give him more time, keep forcing, open a fuzzy skull, or scent it with chicken broth? Help, please!
 
He's more grey and brown, and no he never actually took a hopper. Lots of fuzzies before that, now he won't even take those.
 
Try bumping right down to pinkies and see if a couple of those will tempt him.
 
I meant, is he getting ready to shed? (Blue) Many snakes won't eat during that two week period. I've also had some trouble switching some snakes from fuzzies to hoppers. Not sure why.
 
I would cut the fuzzie/pinkie first. I've never had a snake refuse anything with blood on it. If that didn't work I'd try broth, the next thing I'd do is buy an anole to rub on a pinkie.

Did the snake's eyes go blue gray at all?
 
Well, how does the size of the prey, in diameter, compare to the size of the snake, at the snake's widest part? The prey should be no more than one to one and a half times the diameter of the snake. And it is fairly unusual to feed double fuzzies or hoppers. The progression is typically pink, double pink, peach fuzzy, fuzzy, hopper, weanling, adult. Only the very largest of cornsnakes would ever need double adults. People sometimes feed a double meal, say double fuzzies if hoppers aren't available, but it isn't customary.

How often do you feed? If he refuses, how soon do you offer food again? You should wait at least five days between attempts.

How long have you had him? Has he always fed successfully in the past for you?

Are you fairly certain of his age?

I wouldn't start scenting anything. He's 11 months old; he knows how to eat unscented mice. I would drop back to fuzzies, offer just one, at five day intervals. If he refuses, skip the next time, and offer in ten days.
 
Well, his middle is actually the same size or a tiny bit bigger than the hoppers. I feed between 3-5 days, depending on how close he is to moving up to a bigger prey item. If refused, I try again after 3-5 days.
His hatch date, June 10, was written on the container he came in. I bought him on Sept 14, just over 3 months. So, I've had the lad for over six months, and before this trouble, he only refused 1 or 2 the entire time I've had him. Normally an excellent eater.
Oh yeah, I just built a 4'x2'x2' tank for him. Should I wait to move him into it, until he eats again, for fear of stressing him out? Or do you think he'd be okay? He's getting very comfortable with my wife and I, and is not nearly as timid as he used to be. Thank you for all your help. I've had fullgrown colubrids before, but this is my first baby, and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. You rock Nanci!!
 
Okay, I wouldn't feed him any more often than every five days. Every three days is _way_ too frequent! Plus, you do know you need to let him digest for 48 hours before handling, right? I'd leave him where he is until he starts eating again.

Many snakes go on hunger strikes in the spring. He's a year or two younger than normal for that, but you never know.

I have a snake that is a little bit of a PITA to feed. He likes to sit in his feeding bin a _long_ time. Tonight I checked on him after an hour- he hadn't eaten. So I reheated his mouse and let him sit another hour and a half, in a dark room, covered up, in a pretty small feeding bin. he ate. Normally, people don't have the patience to wait 2.5 hours for a snake to feed. If I didn't, he'd hardly ever eat!
 
Nanci, I have learned from you already. Several of the new arrivals are slow eaters. I ignore them for an hour, rewarm, reoffer, ignore for another hour or two. Sometimes I just go to sleep, since the feeding bins are inside the vivs, and sort it out in the morning.
 
WolfKin said:
Warming it up wouldn't speed up decomp too much? Would I do it with more water?
Click to expand...

Decomp. is going to happen regardless of what you do, except during freezing. If the feeder is in the temp range of 41F - 140F bacteria is growing. You have four hours with a pink at room temp, then it's debatable if it could really harm your snake after that. I have left feeders over night, caught the snake feeding hours later and not noticed a problem. I'm sure their stomach flora is designed to break down bacteria that would make you and I, inhabitants of the lavatory. ;)

What I would do, is get back to the basics. Check what's going on. Then let this guy sit for a little while. Maybe about a week. No handling, no poking, etc. Just change his water and thats it.

Then after a week, start utilizing the things Nanci and Betsy are telling you. Warming up one small pink, leaving him in the dark to eat it and checking on him in an hour. If he eats, then leave him alone. Wait five to six days and do it again. If he doesn't eat, then leave him alone, wait five to six days and try again.

Don't ever ever ever force feed. That's a last resort and shouldn't be attempted on an animal that has only gone a couple of weeks without eating. They can last a long time without food. My Anery went 7 months last year until he snapped out of it.

When you feed, slit the pinks. The smell alone may entice him. Make sure he isn't blue (in shed) before you feed. He may not want to eat during that time.

I'm sure he will snap out of this. Just give him a little time and be patient. In the mean time, read this thread here regarding a practical feeding method. It's called the Munson Plan. It's not perfect, but will suit the majority of snakes just fine.

http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50106

Good luck and keep us posted!

Wayne
 
I'd also be inclined to leave him with the food overnight, rather than just for a few hours. Absolute quiet and dark, when there's no movement in the house, might do the trick. It's worked for some of my stubborn feeders in the past.
 
You guys rock! Thank you for so much good advice. I guess I didn't know as much as I thought. Leaving him alone for a week is gonna be hard, cause he's such a cutie. But if it may work, I have to. I will keep everyone informed of my success or failure. And again, thanks alot guys!
 
LOL! I've kept them for 19 years and I'm still learning new tricks/techniques here. That's just one of the joys of Corn keeping.
 
Good news. D'Argento finally ate. I only left him alone for a couple days, but tried leaving him alone, with the fuzzie, in his feeding tub. It worked like a charm. I checked him out after 2 hours, expecting to have to re-warm the prey, but it was gone. Happy as hell, I was. So thanks everyone for the great advice. In the future, I'll help you all out if I can. Just ask.
 
WolfKin said:
Good news. D'Argento finally ate. I only left him alone for a couple days, but tried leaving him alone, with the fuzzie, in his feeding tub. It worked like a charm. I checked him out after 2 hours, expecting to have to re-warm the prey, but it was gone. Happy as hell, I was. So thanks everyone for the great advice. In the future, I'll help you all out if I can. Just ask.
Click to expand...

I'm so glad! :dancer: Had a feeling this would work out!

Wayne
 
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